


The Avenger in the Shadows

by shadowcaster



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Harry Potter, Best friends Harry and Draco, Biracial Character, Biracial Harry Potter, Black Character(s), Black Harry Potter, Black Hermione Granger, Can't tag without spoiling, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Racism, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Ron MIGHT redeem himself, Ron is an ass, Teen Loki apects later on, Time Travel, Younger Tony, good shit is coming, like mid 20s, secretly slytherin Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2018-10-02 11:03:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowcaster/pseuds/shadowcaster
Summary: {"In the timeline I am from, you are known as the Mistress of Death. And you were strong, yes, but nothing like how I felt earlier."}After the invasion in New York, Loki is brought back to Asgard for his punishment. For his crimes against the Earth and Asgard, Thor convinces Odin to offer Loki the chance to repeat the past year with only Loki, himself, Odin, Frigga and Heimdall remembering the events. Though the Allfather has his own reasons for allowing such a verdict.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo.
> 
> {Any pictures I use of models or actors for fancasts now or in the future, I will not nor will ever own copyright to}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT NOTE (4.15): Added links in the chapter to the fancasts of Harley and Sirius

_To Harley Lillian Potter,_

_We of Gringotts Bank, invite your to the mandatory will reading of James and Lily Potter on Wednesday, August the first. Embedded in the letter is a portkey that will only activate at ten o'clock am and deactivate no less than at two minutes afterwards._

_May your gold overflow and your enemies bow before you,_

_Stormblade,_

_Potter Account Executive_

[Harley](https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-682110b147a83d35194512aafec9d4b6-c?convert_to_webp=true) reread the letter for what seemed like forever. ' _Well, what a nice birthday present,'_ she thought bitterly. A sharp, but familiar feeling clawed at her chest. A pain that would always tell her that she would never get to know her parents. Who in Merlin's name wanted to be famous for that?

The almost sixteen year old sighed and looked around her "room". How is becoming an orphan something to be worshipped for? A psychopathic terrorist murders her parents and she becomes her uncle's and cousin's punching bag and her aunt's house elf. ' _Yes, I truly am spoiled beyond belief, Professor,'_ Harley thought sardonically of her Potions teacher's sharp insults of being spoiled, worshipped and blissfully naïve of pain.

Harley's musing was interrupted by a light clicking on her only bedroom window. Sitting on the outside window sill was a pitch black bird with striking yellow eyes. Its wings were tipped a dark purple, but only noticeable in the sunlight. The bird preened at its midnight feathers with a grey beak. She stared at the unfamiliar bird for quite a while and jumped when the bird tapped the window again with its beak, seeming quite put out. Harley jumped up and quickly opened his window, relieving it of what seemed to be a heavy package.

The only bird she knew that could do that was… Fawkes…

A Phoenix.

Harley's eyes darted to the elegant bird that had helped itself to Hedwig's water bowl. She practically dived onto the floor and under her bed for a book on rare magical creatures that she had bought from the Flourish and Blotts in Hogsmeade. She quickly flipped through the pages to the chapter on rare birds.

One bird. Three different types.

**"An indigenous dark counterpart to the original Sun Phoenix and its twin, the Twilight Phoenix (seen on p. 301). It has been rumored that during the times of Merlin and Morgan Le Fay, that the Twilight and Midnight Phoenixes were the familiars of the two, respectively.**

**Another rumor was if one saw the Phoenix during midday, they would receive eternal luck or if it was seen during the night, they would instead have eternal misfortune.**

**As for how the twin birds were born, there is one instance that claims a dying Phoenix left a strange black egg with Le Fay, while a pure white egg was left with Merlin. The two mages could never overpower the other, even with their new partners, proving that there is no difference in strength between the two.**

**The second is the Midnight Phoenix is said to be the solid personification of the night, born from the moon, while the Twilight Phoenix was born from the stars and the original Phoenix from the sun.**

**The last known and seen Phoenix of any type is the Sun Phoenix and the familiar of Albus Dumbledore."**

' _A Midnight Phoenix? So rare, they're practically a myth?'_

Said bird trilled softly and glided over from Hedwig's perch to her tiny twin sized bed and landed next to the box, nudging it gently with its beak. Shrugging, Harley nearly flopped onto the small bed from how close it is to the floor. She could hear a faint hissing as she placed the box in her lap.

_**§How much longer do we have to be in this box?§** _

_**§Don't worry sister, we shall be out soon.§** _

_**§But when? I'm tired of this dreadful, tiny space.§** _

Snakes? Harley's interest was officially peaked. The red haired girl briefly wondered if they were sent to bite her as soon as she opened the box. But being the Gryffindor that she was, Harley opened it anyway.

_**§Finally! Glorious light! I thought I would go mad in that insipid box!§** _

The two occupants sat up and made their way out the box and wrapped themselves around Harley's arms. She tensed slightly at the two three foot snakes making themselves at home.

 _ **§So you are our mistress… I can taste the power rolling off her in waves, brother…,§**_ hissed the black snake coiled around Harley's left arm.

 _ **§Right you are, my sister… She reeks of magic…,§**_ hissed the green snake lounging on her right arm.

Harley was half nervous and half confused.

She, not being around snakes as much as a Parseltongue should, was the cause of that. But negating her nervousness, Harley's mind began to work overtime.

Who would send her two king cobras?

Who would have a Midnight Phoenix?

A regular phoenix — that sounds so odd — was already difficult to find…

Why were the snakes calling her —

 _ **§Mistress?§**_ the left one called.

 _ **§Who sent you?§**_ Harley asked.

The snake on the right answered. _**§He didn't tell us his name. He rescued us from the boring cage in the big store and took care of us up until he sent us today. He said you would know if you read the note in the boring box.§**_

"He talked to them?" Harley asked herself. The only two people who could speak Parseltongue were Voldemort and herself. Harley grabbed the box she'd discarded on the bed; picking up a piece of white parchment. She smiled softly at the birthday greeting starting the note.

_Happy Birthday, Pup!_

_Er, well, as you can see, I'm not dead. Now clearly, this is a huge shock to you, one I can't really explain to you right now. At least, until we're in a safe place away from any forms of surveillance. I couldn't owl you sooner just on the off chance someone could know that I'm still alive. I'm taking a giant risk just doing this from my safe house, but I had to get you something for your birthday. What I can tell you is that I will be going to James' and Lily's will reading in disguise. After it's over, the goblins will have a room for us to talk in privately._

_As for why I got you two King Cobras? Well, when I decided to get you a pet as a present, I initially didn't know what to get you. Those two practically demanded that I buy them, probably because they could taste some of your magic on me after all the time we've spent together. I'll also explain the Parseltongue thing after the will reading too._

_I hope you're taking care of yourself, Pup, and I'll see you soon._

_Love, Padfoot_

_P.S. Don't mind Hades, he's very self-reliant and intelligent, and will know to feed himself if you can let him stay with you for a while._

[Sirius](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/10/08/bc/1008bc46c3c30b482ccd8993e5da4437.jpg)? He was alive? …But how? Harley's mind was spinning. First, her parent's will reading, two King Cobras are sent to her, and now this? Harley sighed softly as she looked down at the snakes around her arms. They seemed to be pretty young despite their size. Maybe around three — four months? She lifted her right hand gently, as to not awake the green cobra and stroked the head of the black one around her left. _**§Don't you two have names?§**_ she asked softly.

The black cobra lifted her head almost lazily because of the gentle petting. _**§We're newborns; the Magic born in us makes us bigger than normal. You must label us the names Magic destined us to be called by, we'll become bonded to you and your Magic will recognize us as your familiars.§**_

Harley nodded absentmindedly as she switched hands petting the other snake on her right hand. As if Magic itself was putting the names into her mind, the male snake's name fell from her lips, _**§Vasuki. He was the king of all snakes in India,§**_ **s** he whispered. The emerald King Cobra, finally named, lifted his head hissing proudly.

_**§What about me?§** _

Harley looked down at her left hand. _ **§Kiyo. I remember the name from a book on Japanese folklore I read when I was little. A scorned woman turned into a snake to take vengeance on her escaping lover. It's pretty fitting, is it not?§**_ The newly named snake slithered up Harley's arm to her shoulder, hissing happily.

Suddenly, a faint glowing wisp appeared and circled around Harley. Slowly, the wisp grew in size, beaming an emerald green. Two other wisps joined the first, this time becoming platinum silver and a perfect shade of red. The wisps began to circle the Girl-Who-Lived faster and faster, to the point that it looked like a tornado. Along with it came a low rumbling.

Then, it stopped.

Harley had never questioned the laws of Magic until now.

"What the bloody hell was that?" she whispered.

 _ **§That was your Magic bonding us. But I never thought it would be so powerful. Amazing,§**_ Vasuki hissed softly.

Harley blinked owlishly, trying to process what happened. She shook her head to get out of her shocked stupor. Looking at her digital clock (previously a gift for Dudley's eighth birthday from Aunt Marge before he threw it at Harley's head) on the rickety bedside table (also previously Dudley's before he used it as a stool to get a toy from the high shelf above his television), Harley jumped up. "2:00. Two bloody o'clock and I haven't done anything. They'll be home in three hours." Harley's mind raced for a solution to clean the dishes and the bathroom, mow the lawn, rid the entire house of dust and clean out the shed and Dudley's room by five o'clock.

Dobby.

Of course. How could she have been so stupid? She should have asked for his help a long time ago! "Dobby!" Harley called. An audible crack resounded around the tiny bedroom.

"Harley Potter called on Dobby. Dobby is honored," said the excited house elf.

Harley shook her head at her little friend's antics. "Listen, Dobby. I really need your help. My aunt and uncle left me with a bunch of chores and they're gonna be home in three hours. Can you help me?"

The answer was immediate. "Oh, yes! Dobby will help Miss Harley Potter!"

"Great! So I'll do the outside and you do the inside," Harley grinned, heading for the door. But before her foot even left the room, Dobby stopped her. "Harley Potter doesn't need to do anything! I will do it myself!" Harley turned around to look at her small friend. "Dobby, I couldn't ask you to do that for me. Really, —"

"Harley Potter doesn't need to ask! Dobby wants to. Dobby hears and sees how your relatives treat the great Harley Potter…," Dobby said angrily at the treatment of someone he looks up to. Dobby then took a deep breath. "You need a well deserved rest and a hearty meal. It will take nothing but a short hour to do your chores." Seeing that she probably won't be able to win the argument, Harley lay down on her bed and took a nap as Dobby prescribed and the tiny house elf went to work.

* * *

One hour later, Dobby was done.

Satisfied with his handiwork, the house elf apparated back to Harley's room. "Harley Potter…," Dobby whispered as he shook her shoulder. It didn't take much to wake Harley up. Between all the nightmares, the hazings from Dudley and his friends would commit when they stayed over, plus the leering looks her cousin's friends gave her, and the surprise attacks from his uncle as an excuse to say Harley didn't do something right, Harley was a light sleeper.

"What…?"

"Dobby is done," the tiny house elf said proudly. Harley blinked sleepily at the ceiling, rubbing her eyes. "Whoa, seriously?" Harley sat up slowly, getting off the bed.

 _ **§Mistress?§**_ one of the cobras hissed. Vasuki. _**§Can we go with you?§**_

Dobby squeaked from the sight of the cobra and hid behind Harley's leg. "Dobby, it's alright. They're mine," Harley picked up Kiyo, watching as she slithered up her arm and appeared on her shoulder, wrapping herself around her neck loosely. She then lifted Vasuki, letting him tangle through her fingers. "This is Kiyo," she pointed to her neck with her free hand, "And this is Vasuki," lifting her right hand.

The small elf nodded, eyeing the cobras warily and lead Harley down stairs. Instantly, she was hit with the smell of lemons and sees how spotless the kitchen is. Harley almost couldn't believe it, for neither she nor her aunt could get the kitchen this clean. With her uncle and cousin, how could anyone? Looking to the dining room, a glare from the table met her eyes. She had never seen the table so polished. In fact, it looked brand new, never touched.

Harley walked into the living room, greeted by a strong aroma of lemon, probably the source. The couches had been cleaned, the carpet and rugs steamed and vacuumed. Even the tassels on either side of the center rug were combed out. The television wiped down and dusted, the screen polished. Every piece of what Vernon and Petunia considered art had been dusted.

"Dobby… This is amazing…," Harley grinned, looking down at the elf. Dobby's emerald green tennis ball eyes welled up with tears.

"Harley Potter is too good to Dobby!" Dobby blinked his eyes rapidly, ridding himself of the tears. He grabbed Harley's hand and dragged her to the dining room. Dobby quickly snapped his bony fingers, making a chair slide away from the table.

Harley watched as Dobby pulled together steak and scrambled eggs with cheese and peppers. As the full plate floated and land in front of her, she noticed the hyper elf bouncing on his toes out of the corner of her eye. She took a bite of the steak, savoring the flavor. Harley's eyes closed for a moment as she got her first taste of filling food outside of school. "Dobby. Thank you. This is the best food I've ever had." Harley shamelessly finished off the rest of her food and patted her full stomach. She stood and stretched slightly before going over to the sink to clean her plate.

As she was drying the plate to put it away, Harley heard her uncle's car pull into the driveway. They had returned early. After putting the dish in the cabinet, Harley took Dobby's hand and ran them up stairs. Harley shut her bedroom door as soon as the front door opened. She pressed her ear against the door listening for any verbal hints that might tell her how well a day her uncle had. Before long, the burly, muffled voice of her uncle reached the door.

It turns out he'd gotten another sucker— er, businessman to invest into the small drill company of Grunnings. Harley snorted to herself about how many times her uncle must have to kiss the investor's ass to just to get him to consider. She listened harder as her uncle's voice reached her ear once more. He had also managed to get this investor to come over for dinner tonight to sign the contract and he wanted a special dinner in celebration.

Harley already knew what was coming; her uncle would call her down, lecture her about keeping quiet and making sure she was seen but not heard, and then have her make the dinner.

Soon enough…

"Girl! Get down here!"

She sighed heavily, opening her bedroom door before turning to Dobby, and pressing her finger to her lips, signing her to keep quiet. As Harley made hers way down the stairs, she remembered that Vasuki and Kiyo were still wrapped around her person. She gave them a quick hiss to stay hidden and out of sight. It was then that she felt a sort of cold and wet feeling; did they somehow blend in with her skin? She made the short turn to the dining room, just as she received a twin reply.

"Sit," her uncle ordered.

She forced herself not to talk back with a "Would like me to roll over as well?" Instead, Harley sat in the cherry wood chair with the tacky pink and brown fleur-de-lis upholstery her aunt insisted on having.

"Today is a very special evening. I have managed to earn Grunnings a very powerful, very generous investor. He and his wife shall be coming for dinner at 8:00. If all goes well tonight, you will be looking at the vice president of Grunnings." Vernon puffed up his chest more than usual. Petunia squawked gleefully and peppered her uncle's face with kisses, wrapping her arms around his waist as far as she could (which wasn't far). Dudley gave an absentminded grunt as his mouth was full of barbeque chips while he watched television.

Harley just rolled her eyes. "So what does this have to do with me?"

Vernon's grin faded. Petunia's already pursed lips pursed even more, slightly making her look like a duck. Harley noticed Dudley turning his head slightly away from the T.V., showing his attention. Dudley always liked to watch as Harley got reprimanded for being snarky.

But Vernon didn't say anything. He just glared while Harley stared back. When she was younger, she would cower and try everything to avoid her uncle's glare but she could still sense it. Now, after the things she had seen and went through, not even a glare from Voldemort would make her sweat. ' _Come on, you sorry excuse for a walrus, try me.'_

She knew that he thought that without her wand, she couldn't defend herself from him. When in fact, Harley could easily send her uncle to the middle of London before he could try anything. What Vernon didn't know (which was plenty) was that there were other forms of Magic, one being Wandless Magic, one of the Magical Arts that Harley was quite masterful in. Discovering her affinity for the rare art happened during spring break of fourth year. Harley would want some privacy from the chaos that was the student body and the Daily Prophet, so she sometimes walked the empty, unused corridors for rare moments of peace.

* * *

_One of those days, a Wednesday, the students of Hogwarts had been quite gracious after she saved Fleur Delacour's young sister, Gabrielle, plus her own captive Ron, from the Black Lake. She didn't exactly see what the big deal was; she was just worried over the fact that the girl's older sister hadn't come yet. But then again, Hermione did diagnose her with a hero complex, to which she grudgingly agreed to._

_Harley had noticed that she had just made it to the seventh floor when she walked past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy's idiotic attempt at training trolls to dance ballet. She paced hall several times, thinking nothing in particular but just wishing she could find someplace of her own, from the rest of the school. It was around the eighth lap down the hall that a door appeared. She looked to the wall absentmindedly when she saw the door. She stopped short. When did this door get here?_ How _did this door get here? Interested, she opened the heavy wooden door._

_Harley couldn't help but sigh in relief as she looked around the room; a sigh of finally having the one thing she'd rarely had: quiet. Sure, on those peaceful days during the past summers ever since she had found out she was a wizard were nice, but they were far and few between. Most of the time, she would get bugged by Dudley because he would always claim he was bored..._

_The room in its entirety looked like something out of those perfect bedrooms out of her aunt's household magazines. The room was a deep red with accents of green, silver and gold throughout. Her eyes caught a red embroidered chair, one just like in the Gryffindor common room. Not even thinking of anything else, Harley made her way to one of the fluffy chairs in front of the fireplace. She closed her eyes and smiled in blissful comfort._

_Slowly, Harley reopened her eyes to a wall sized bookcase next to the fireplace. She wanted to get up at the look at the assortment of books, but she couldn't bring herself to get up. Harley squinted slightly to catch some the titles._ Get in Touch with Your Magical Core? Animagi Magi? _There was one that she couldn't really make out from this distance, but it seemed to be calling to her… Harley got up and walked to the book case, pulling out a heavy, green old tome. She examined the cover and saw that the title wasn't even in English. Or any language she knew of. In fact, the lettering looked like nothing but a bunch of scribble._

_Harley squinted her eyes once again and the scribbled lines seemed to change. In a few seconds, the squiggles formed into perfectly legible letters._

_**Salazar Slytherin** _

_Harley nearly dropped it. What was this book of Slytherin's doing in here? She realized that if Slytherin wrote it that was the reason those squiggles were there in the first place: it was in Parseltongue. She opened it hesitantly and saw that the first page was an introduction._

_**This tome is of my own creation. Over the years I have been on this Earth, I have learned and gained much information about the Magic that has blessed me. I know that by the time this has been found I will be gone. The book is in Parseltongue, thus only my descendants with the Language of the Snakes can read this. Therefore, to the one reading: This is what I've discovered.** _

_**Inside this book is my history from birth to my current age, recipes to potions that might have long become outdated, spells that people are sure to believe are too Dark or obsolete, my beliefs of what is Light or Dark, animals that have probably befell to extinction and finally, three of my proudest discoveries, the Mastery of Wandless Magic, Shadow Magic, and the Elemental Arts: Pyromancy, Cryomancy, and Aeromancy.** _

_Obviously, Harley's interest and urge to learn was peaked and spent plenty a time reading the old book during the night in Gryffindor tower while everyone was asleep and any time she managed to have to herself._

_She practiced hours upon hours attempting the potions Slytherin left behind until she executed each one successfully and enjoyed every second of it. At first, she thought of showing up Professor Snape in class but that would only make matters worse. Harley actually did like her class… just not her teacher. She respected Snape's Mastery of the art but not him as a person._

_Moving onto the next subject, Harley read up on extinct animals. Crumple-Horned Snorkack? Blibbering Humdinger? There was no way these were real._

_Imagine her surprise during fifth year, when a fourteen year old girl mentions the same ones._

_From the animals, Harley transitioned to the spells. Knowing that most of the spells in the book were truly Dark unlike most of the ones she knew now, made her slightly apprehensive._

_Only slightly._

_Harley knew that she wasn't purely Light, so she buckled down, practiced and enjoyed herself. Unlike what the other books claimed, she didn't feel any type of restriction on her magical core from Darkness latching on to it. But from what she read in Slytherin's notes, it takes someone who wasn't afraid to delve into the Darkness of Magic. They must know the consequences but fight for equality of all to not to feel any discomfort or become addicted to the power of the spells or items; a mix between the Light and the Dark: Grey. Harley admitted to herself that it scared her a bit. She read on, finding out that Salazar had discovered that only wizards of the Grey alliance could use what was called the Shadow Magic._

_During Slytherin's travels, he had discovered small covens of witches and wizards that practiced in the Shadow Arts. They were strong and feared by many. They were able to actually shape and manipulate the darkness, by either putting their villages in a pitch black night or by blending into the shadows themselves, no matter how small. They had the ability to see in the dark and attack opponents with projectiles created with the darkness. The most proficient of the Shadow Mages could solidify their shadows and make them fight for them, heal others and even create small pockets of darkness for either eliminating enemies or just storing things. What awed Salazar the most was their ability to combine physical combat with their magic._ " _ **If a Shadow Mage were to be hit using Shadow Combat, they would simply become intangible then allow their magic to mend them back together."**_

 _Slytherin tried his hardest to learn the art, but he quickly learned that Shadow Magic is quite volatile and particular about who used it. It was here that he learned that one must be equally Light and Dark; completely balanced, which explained why there were so many small covens in the first place._ " _ **If a Shadow Mage were to stray from their neutral path into the Dark Arts, the Shadow Magic could latch onto their Magical Core and eat away at it until the witch or wizard became nothing but a shadow themselves."**_ _Harley surmised if that was the case then, there must be almost none now._

 _While she didn't expect it, the Shadow Magic had accepted her. Practicing one of the ten Shadow spells Salazar had left in his tome, Harley had managed to perform one of the affinity test spells, forming a ball of shadows in your hand. That alone was a feat because if it worked, the Magic would blend with the wizard's Magical Core._ " _ **If one didn't have an affinity for Shadow Magic, they wouldn't be able to one of the most basic spells at all and their Magic is immediately rejected."**_ _She pushed herself to the farthest teaching herself all of the spells and wanting to learn more about the art. Harley tried to ask the school for help, but to no avail and sadly had to move on._

_In the next section, Harley came across a case of irony._

_Shadow Mages were highly susceptible to light. Meaning they were more powerful during the night, obviously, and were weakened during the day and by any form of Magic that caused light. More specifically, fire. One didn't usually have an affinity for such a rare art like Shadow Magic, let alone two. Not mention that they were practically opposites. Unlike Shadow Magic, both Pyromancy and Cryomancy were quite accessible forms of Magic and also mixed with the wizard's Core. Since Shadow Magic avoided all forms of light, its Magic was naturally cold and worked best with Cryomancy. However, this was not the case with the Girl-Who-Lived._

_**"To be accepted as a Mage of Fire or Ice, it depends most on the wizard's personality. With the wizard's I have interacted with, I have deducted that Cryomancers tended to be ambitious, analytical, egotistical and inflexible, while Pyromancers are usually brave, passionate, temperamental and protective. Though there is one factor that pertains to both that one should avoid: Pyromancers and Cryomancers are fiercely dangerous were provoked."** _

_Finally she arrived to the last teaching in Slytherin's diary, Wandless Magic. Needless to say, she followed Slytherin's notes and annotations to the letter and every punctuation mark. She started small like the book said; casting Lumos to light the room, levitating inkwells and so on. Harley quickly moved on to stronger spells, casting the cutting spell Relashio on dummies and the like. By the time she had finished the school year, Harley was at the intermediate level, which was a feat in itself, seeing as most successful wizards could only cast stunning spells like Stupefy or certain charms like Wingardium Leviosa._

_But she didn't want to be like them. She wanted to protect those close to her and make sure to do it thoroughly. Harley knew that if anyone caught on to what she was doing they would find out someway to put a stop to it. All three forms of Magic (Natural, Fire and Shadow) warmed her Magical Core with her need to keep her loved ones safe as they mixed together in perfect harmony. She had to hide her skill and hone it until she mastered it. Only after that she would tell Hermione and Ron and help them._

_Fourth year ended…_

_She and Ron are no longer friends._

_Cedric's death hit home for Harley. More than she'd like to admit. The first casualty of the second war. If she hadn't told him to grab that damn trophy… So she promised herself to train harder during fifth year. But that wretched toad had to screw up everything. Umbridge almost made Harley lash out at her when she made her do those lines. She could have killed her if he wanted to; just by looking at her, in her office. Then Hermione came up with a brilliant idea._

_Dumbledore's Army._

_But where to do it?_

_What Harley never realized was that she was going to the perfect place. The Room of Requirement. The thing was that she never had to pace the seventh floor hallway for the door to her safe haven was always there. After figuring that out, she thanked the school every day for helping her._

_Then Arthur Weasley was attacked. Dumbledore wanted her to learn Occlumency. A foolish attempt to keep Voldemort out of her mind and a foolish decision to have Snape teach it. As Snape practically mind-raped her, he also began to chip away Harley's resolve not to snap back and hurt him, not to mention the fact that she couldn't figure out why she couldn't create at least a semi-solid shield in her mind. He was watching private and mentally scarring memories that she was determined to never think about again. She also had a fleeting suspicion that he found out about her newly developed powers as well. Since Snape never mentioned it, she could only thank him mentally for not compromising her. Sadly, the classes were going nowhere fast._

_As fifth year pulled to a close, so did Sirius' 'life' at the Department of Mysteries… She couldn't bear to think about the 'field trip' the D.A. went on. But surely, Harley returned to Privet Drive with an even more solid resolve to protect what or who she cared about and kick ass doing it, no matter whether she was Light, Dark or the side she later learned hasn't been occupied since before Grindelwald, Grey._

_Not one enemy would know what kind of power she held now. Not until it was too late._

* * *

A sharp rap over the head shook Harley out of her thoughts. "Ow!" She glared up at the hand that touched her.

"Get that glazed look off your face, girl, and listen to your aunt tell you what she wants done for dinner," Vernon growled, his meaty hand still hovering in the air. Harley clenched her jaw, nodded sharply and followed her aunt to the front door. She was pulling a sweater out of the hall closet as she took the car keys off the hook next to the door, handing them to her. Harley opened the front door, allowing her to exit first and trailed after her.

Neither of them said a single word as Petunia drove into London. As she pulled into the supermarket parking lot, she finally spoke. "I want you to get two and a half pounds of red potatoes, three pounds of green beans, and a bottle of lemon juice. I will get the steaks, spices and dessert. Have you got all that?" Harley nodded again and stepped out of the car.

* * *

Harley tried to take as long as she could, only getting to the second item on the list in fifteen minutes. Quickly, she went to the next aisle over for the bottle of lemon juice and went straight for the checkout line, which ― only adding to Harley's irritation ― was eleven people long. And it didn't look like she was going anywhere soon, seeing as half the people in the line looked like they were planning a large dinner as well.

Harley absentmindedly tapped her foot waiting for her aunt as the checkout line slowly went down.

' _How long does it take to pick out steaks?'_ she thought, but Harley soon after rolled her eyes at her question. She knew how meticulous her aunt was…

Suddenly, the line moved up two people, but she was still nine people behind the register. She looked over at the other registers only to see the others were just as backed up as this one. ' _If it gets this busy, I should get a job here…,'_ Harley thought distractedly. She continued to wait as the line went down another person when she felt a small tug on the end of her white dress shirt.

She looked down to see a small girl with jet black hair, pale skin and dark brown eyes; so dark, in fact, they would probably look black if she wasn't in the light. She briefly reminded her of Professor Snape by the disparaging look in her eyes…

"You're Harley Potter, right?" she asked.

Her brows furrowed. "Yeah…?"

The little girl sniffed. "You don't look like a pampered princess… more like a paltry pauper. I don't know what my father was thinking…"

Harley narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Who's your father?" She briefly had a passing thought to who it was by her disposition, but prayed inwardly that she was wrong.

"I would be her father, Miss Potter…," a recognizable drawling voice answered. Harley looked up to see her Potions Professor dressed in a simple pair of black shoes and slacks, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The thing that stuck out the most from Harley seeing his Professor outside of school was that his usually black, greasy hair had been washed and tied into an easy ponytail with a black ribbon. He actually looked... _attractive_.

 _'Whoa, Potter. That is_ not _a road you want to go down,'_ she thought to herself.

"Professor Snape," Harley greeted cordially. "Odd seeing you here, but a pleasure none the less. I never knew you had a daughter; she's adorable."

His daughter's face lit up, delighted to hear Harley's compliment.

Snape, on the other hand, had an out of place look of surprise in his eyes from Harley's politeness, but quickly masked it with Occlumency. "Thank you. Her name is Gwendolyn; she's one of the very few greatest things that have ever happened to me."

"Forgive me for overstepping, sir, but are you married?" She didn't know why, but she felt the need to find out.

"Hm. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you, so yes I am." Harley watched as a ghost of a smile appeared over Snape's lips before disappearing almost immediately. She wanted to ask who she was, but she didn't want to overstep once more.

She felt a slight push against the defense system in her mind. Harley realized that Snape was testing her. She looked into her teacher's eyes to see confusion; Snape didn't expect to find such sturdy protection. Harley smirked internally. She had been practicing the art when she had the free time to get to her hideout during the rest of the school year after Snape kicked her out to figure out where her issues lied. She found out that the Potioneer was right about some out the things he criticized her about, but you'll never catch her saying that to the Professor's face.

Harley was too emotional; she was too dependable on luck, thinking the art of Occlumency wouldn't be difficult as everything else she taught herself and she ended up being crushed quite pitifully; Harley underestimated the direction her teacher was taking to train her, nor did she take the time to actually read about the subject…

Not this time.

Harley's mind had been torn down and redesigned.

Her shield was her home: Hogwarts.

With too many trick doors and stairs to count as it was, Harley made it more difficult by locking up her memories in the six most secure places in the school: the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw towers, the Slytherin dungeons, the Room of Requirement and in all probability the most protective, with a password in her second language, the Chamber of Secrets. The school itself was a maze, the deceiving doors and the sneaky stairs became the perfect dead ends.

But before anyone could even step foot into the castle, the intruder had to confront Harley's army of beasts: Griffins, Sphinxes, Hippogriffs, Hagrid's younger brother, Grawp the giant (which wasn't easy for one to think about), a pack of wolves and Grims, a pride of lions and a leap of panther, and finally the last two ― the most powerful ― a group of Dementors and a single Basilisk. If anyone was lucky enough to get inside her ― suitably named ― fortress, they would have one hell of a time getting past her protectors.

Harley kept her eyes locked on Snape, whose own soon transitioned from confusion to shock. "I'm sure you weren't expecting that, Professor?" her voice and eyes alight with humor.

"Certainly not, Miss Potter. Obviously, you've been practicing and improved significantly. May I ask why you didn't put that much effort during school?"

"I was careless," she answered honestly. "I'll let you in a small secret though Professor, I only started to improve this summer… Constant meditation the entire day since June…," Harley stopped abruptly, flinching slightly from the image of Sirius dying before she remembered the letter from this morning. A letter, in fact, that she didn't even know was real or not. "...I also read up on it like I should've in the first place; it's been a big help. I can only apologize for being a nuisance this past school year."

There it was again, that look of surprise in Snape's eyes. Harley laughed softly. "Do you really have that little faith in me, Professor, that I can't apologize for a mistake?"

The Professor's face quickly melded back into its emotionless mask. "Yes, well, I can only hope you continue on this path this school year, Miss Potter. Surprisingly, you are in my class again this year."

It was here that Petunia decided to interrupt their civil conversation. "Well girl, let me see if you haven't concocted some way to get us sick." She held her hand out expectantly and motioned for her to drop them in her shopping basket, knowing none of the people within hearing distance would find her statement odd. Vernon and Petunia constantly spread rumors about her turning into a disturbed delinquent soon after they _"graciously"_ took her in in the wake of her parents' deaths.

Spoon fed every bite of bullshit and accepted each one.

Harley sighed and dropped the items into the basket. _"Yes, well if that was the case I would have done it a long time ago, now wouldn't I?"_ she practically hissed between her teeth. She gave her aunt a half-hearted fake smile and turned away, ignoring the surprised looks on Snape, his daughter and her aunt's faces. Harley breathed through her nose and offered the three a polite smile. "Sorry about that. Professor Snape, I would like to introduce my Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia, this is one of my teachers from school—"

"Severus," Petunia said coldly.

"Petunia... I knew that was you. You haven't… changed one bit," Snape remarked. He looked her over from head to toe with a look of familiar irritation. "How are you?"

"Quite well, thank you," she sniffed, unwilling to show weakness to a man she hasn't seen since her sister first left for school. "Come along then, Harley, we have to go so we can start dinner," Petunia ordered, moving ahead of both her niece and her teacher.

_'So they know one another? Rather interesting...'_

"Uh, I guess I'll see you next term, Professor. I hope you and your family have a nice rest of your summer," Harley waved, following after her aunt.

Snape returned her wave with a nod and took his daughter's hand. "Come then, Gwendolyn, your father will be expecting us home soon."

_'I only hope, Harley, that you won't be angry when you find out the truth...'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to do great things with this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley fucks up.
> 
> EDIT NOTE (3.12): Went back and added better descriptors of skin tone.
> 
> EDIT NOTE (4.15): Added links in the chapter to fancasts.*

It was only two more hours until it was time for dinner. Petunia had managed to drag Harley back out of the house to go dress shopping once they had all the food prepared and in the oven. Harley had to admit that being forced to shop wasn't too bad; her aunt had told her that she was allowed to pick out her own dress. Choosing and trying on the first dress she found, a soft blue color that complimented her skin tone and didn't clash with her hair, Petunia decided that the dress was decent enough and agreed. The teen was just relieved that neither of the had to waste time arguing.

 

When the two arrived home, the first thing Harley saw when she walked through the door was her uncle's already red face. But before Vernon could even say a word, the witch rolled her eyes, forcing the fattest Dursley's face to become an even darker shade of red.

 

“Now look here, girl. I won't be having any of your M—”

 

“Magic?” Harley interrupted, the left corner of her mouth lifting upwards.

 

 _“Mischief_ disrupting this dinner,” Vernon stressed with gritted teeth. “I've already said how important this is.” Her uncle stepped closer, baring his slightly yellowed, but otherwise flawless teeth under his bushy mustache. “If you do _anything_ that will cause the termination of this deal, I'll knock the stuffing out of you, throw you in the tool shed and you will stay there until you're thirty! Magic be damned!”

 

“I couldn't care less about this, to be honest. I'm only going along with this over-exaggeration of a dinner party out of boredom, I'm afraid,” the young witch shrugged. “Even though I know my opinion has no weight around here, as you and Dudley have more than enough to throw around, I believe this dinner will crash and burn, with or without my help.” With this, Harley turned on her heel and trotted up the stairs with a sly smirk.

 

* * *

 

  
With a reluctant attitude only she could provide, Harley donned her dress and quickly cast a silent spell for her hair, forcing it to tighten its ends into perfectly, bouncy red curls. She worked in complete silence doing her makeup for the next few minutes until Harley realized that Kiyo and Vasuki were still wrapped around her. 

 

 _§Mistress, we’re bored…§_ Kiyo hissed quietly.

 

From the sudden sound, the teen jumped slightly, not expecting the young snake to make herself known.  _§I'm sorry for ignoring you two, Kiyo. My pitiful relatives have been keeping me distracted. I only ask that you wait a bit longer until this charade is over,§_ Harley explained.

 

At this, the snake huffed and blended back into her mistress' skin. _§Bloody humans…§_

 

Finished with her brief make-over, Harley emerged from her room. She felt quite proud of how she looked; not that she particularly cared about this event, but she didn't mind dressing up either. Barely a foot away from her door, she almost got barreled down by her hulk of a cousin, Dudley.

 

She hissed sharply as he pushed her into the wall, making an extremely uncomfortable grip on her chest, attempting to keep his balance. When he let go, she had subconsciously formed a ball of fire in her right hand, poised to throw when Dudley suddenly turned around. Before his eyes could catch it, the flame had already extinguished. He gave Harley the creepiest grin possible when he told her something that instantly made her want to run to the bathroom to take a shower. “Lookin' good, cousin.” As if he had told this to a random girl on the street. For Merlin's sake, he even _winked_ at her!

 

Harley quickly turned on her heel and raced back down the stairs. She managed to force any bile down that tried to sneak its way up but was unable to shake away the slimy feeling. “I have _got_ to get out of here before I burn them all alive,” she breathed.

 

* * *

 

Harley would be forced to look at Dudley's pig-like face again throughout the whole evening. She would worry about that later though. For right now, she leaned against the wall near the front door, attempting to keep a hold on herself before she did something she knew that she'd not only regret, but get sent to Azkaban for. Staring at her hand, the witch watched as a new flame grew steadily in the center of her palm.

 

Harley allowed herself to get lost in the dancing light. Doing so, she felt her shoulders lose their tension and her entire body in the process. She refused to let herself get lost in her anger. It was true, being intertwined with her fire magic has caused her to act more rashly and become angry much quicker. But Harley knew it would only be a matter of time before she had complete reign over her powers. She took a few calming breaths and stared further into the distracting fire. Suddenly, the front door was knocked upon.

 

The sound caused the witch to jump and quickly put out the flame.

 

“Potter! Answer that door! And there better be a smile on your face.” Petunia hissed from the kitchen.

 

Taking a deep breath and plastering a fake smile on her face, Harley opened the door.

 

Only for it to fall from her face three seconds later.

 

“Draco?” she gaped.

 

Platinum blond eyebrows raised, a surprised Draco Malfoy stared back. Along with him, of course, were his parents: Lucius and Narcissa. “...Potter. You live… here?” he sneered slightly as his gray eyes darted over the structure of the two-story house.

 

“Sadly, yes. You remember the horrible family of Muggles I told you I had the misfortune of being related to via my mother?” she hinted. At Draco's nod, and from the sound of her uncle's heavy steps making their way down the stairs, she sighed and stepped away from the door. “Brace yourselves.”

 

“Yes, yes, hello! You three must be the Malfoy's. I'm Vernon Dursley,” her uncle announced. “This is my wife and son, Petunia and Dudley.” As if they had synchronized it perfectly, both her aunt and cousin immediately appeared from the kitchen and from upstairs. It reminded Harley briefly of the many families she had once saw in an American movie on television called the Stepford Wives. Just like in the movie, everyone and everything was horribly fake and rehearsed. She didn't know if the Malfoys caught the way Vernon's eyes flickered towards Narcissa and Draco, but him doing so made her right eyebrow twitch in anger.  _'Why is it such a big deal anyway?'_ Her aunt was the same, albeit a bit more subtle about it but over the years, Harley learned. The body language, dispositions, even people's speech changed when they were around someone black, dark or light skinned. It isn't always about being vocal about it anymore. The darker they were, the obvious it was.

Draco was born of the same race she was; they were both half black, you see. Harley had a more warm caramel like complextion, but [Draco](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/bf/f9/6ebff945793d7fb10146f6affedeefcb.jpg) was born even lighter, like the color of sand, due to the Malfoys being historically pale. With that, came the famous blond Malfoy hair, only his hair had loose, soft curls. Most of the members of House of Black were well... black. [Narcissa](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjMxNDM2NDU1MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTc5MTQ2NDE@._V1_UY1200_CR8506301200_AL_.jpg) herself was darker in shade and had more of a cool, chestnut undertone and with relaxed, wavy black hair pulled into a tight bun as opposed to Sirius' or Bellatrix's long, wild and bushy. 

 

Draco darted his eyes over towards Harley in question. The witch caught on quickly. _“Dudley?”_ Gray eyes shined in amusement. She rolled her eyes and nodded subtly.

 

“A pleasure,” Lucius answered. Harley watched with contained amusement as the Lord of the Malfoy family attempted to keep the sneer from making its way onto his face. “I am Lucius, this is my wife, Narcissa and my son, Draco.” The young witch noticed the same fabricated disposition with the Malfoy's, only she surmised that if she were in their own home, they would look and be much more comfortable around one another. The Malfoy's only showed a face of aloofness to the public eye.

 

Both Draco and Narcissa nodded towards the Dursley's in greeting with small identical smiles, not bothering to waste their breath.

 

“Please, come in, come in!” Vernon insisted. “My son and niece will lead you to the living room while I help my wife in the kitchen.” Vernon led Petunia towards the kitchen, leaving the five other occupants in the foyer.

 

Dudley took this time to stare shamelessly at Narcissa, unaware of Lucius' clenched hand around his cane. Harley's eyes widened and flicked her hand slightly towards Dudley. This caused a glazed look to develop in his eyes and he suddenly walked into the living room.

 

“Using Wandless Magic on your cousin, Potter?” snickered Draco. “Bit too underhanded for a Gryffindor such as yourself, don't you think?”

 

“Oh quiet, Draco, you know I'd be practically ruling Slytherin at your side if I had desired it First Year,” Harley remarked with a roll of her eyes. With Draco's parents slightly stunned, she led them through to the living room where a _Confounded_ Dudley had already turned on the television.

 

She politely offered them to sit on the couch before taking a seat herself. “If I may ask, Mr. Malfoy, exactly what business does a wizard of your caliber have in the Muggle world? Especially with a business as boring as drills. Because honestly, it sounds like some half-assed plan for you to either take me to Voldemort, or to convince me to collaborate with you in the war,” Harley stated bluntly.

 

“Rather clever of you to deduce two obvious options, Miss Potter. However, this may come as a shock to you, but I had no idea you lived here,” Lucius admitted. “Until now, the most I knew of your home life was that you had the terrible luck of living with Muggles. I will say that the only reason we are here this evening is simply for monetary reasons. Despite my disdain, I do have a rather extensive knowledge of Muggle businesses. Now, may I inquire as to how you and Draco became friends despite my knowledge of your school rivalry?”

 

Harley nodded her head towards her best friend's father. “It was during Fourth Year, after my name had been chosen from the Goblet, I believe. Ronald Weasley refused to believe my denial of entering my name, despite using common sense.” She paused to roll her eyes. “Only a select amount students, which included Draco, agreed that I was telling the truth. He basically took Ron's place as my best friend,” she confessed shyly.

 

“Sentiment, Potter? You're better than that,” Draco taunted playfully.

 

Before Harley could fire a come back, both Petunia and Vernon walked into the living room, calling everyone to the table. The witch quickly erased the spell she cast over her cousin earlier and very narrowly dodged his heavy feet as he barreled past her. Without her aunt asking, Harley followed Petunia back into the kitchen and helped her serve dinner to the table. She took the only open seat across from Draco, and unfortunately, next to her cousin.

 

The dinner passed by smoothly with Vernon and Lord Malfoy passing business inquiries back and forth that Harley didn't care to listen to. In order to keep up the guise of being unfamiliar with their guests, she could not amuse herself with Draco and boredom had struck no later after her aunt had passed out the wine. Over the course of the dinner, Harley couldn’t help but imagine being back at school and practicing her magic without distraction.

 

It was after dessert had been passed out and eaten that things became mildly interesting.

 

And problematic.

 

Watching Lucius Malfoy’s facial reactions to her uncle’s poor jokes was quite amusing. There was this slight twitch in his eyebrow every time Vernon made a bad pun. The forced laughs that both he and his wife gave were incredibly obvious but her uncle and aunt ate them up anyway.

 

It was around this time (9:15 to be specific) that Petunia gestured to Harley to help clear the table for the blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream that she had bought for dessert. From the kitchen, clearing scraps from the plates, she heard Lucius eventually bring up getting to know each other’s families in order to save the rest of his family from Vernon’s feeble attempts at humor. “Why don’t you tell me about your son and niece, Mr. Dursley? Give these children a small break from all this business talk?”

 

Vernon, being the social (and money hungry) butterfly that he is, easily switches topics and begins bragging about Dudley trying out for rugby for the upcoming school year. “Other than boxing, there’s no other sport perfect for my boy!” he chortles. He pats Dudley on the back. Dudley, who had been watching the television practically the entire time, grunts when his father does so and quickly offers a forced smile to the Malfoys. “He’s been bulking up over the summer! He’ll be the star and captain, no doubt.”

 

Back in the kitchen, Harley snorted quietly and rolled her eyes.

 

“What about your boy, Mr. Malfoy? The young chap play any sports?”

 

Lucius smiles slightly. “Less… aggressive sports. Fencing, horseback riding and the like. Draco is more of a scholar than anything, very studious. And your niece?”

 

At this, Vernon paused. “She… isn’t as bright as your son seems to be. Quite lazy in her school work. She’s an orphan, my wife’s niece. Troubled. Petunia tries to steer her in the right direction.” Vernon lowers his voice slightly, “I think she… _gets it from her father_. Not very sharp either from what my wife’s told me.”

 

Draco stares irritably at the table, wishing he could burn a hole through it. _‘Not bright? From her father?’_  Along with him, his mother too, glares above Vernon’s head. Lucius, on the other hand, nods understandably and feigns concern. “That’s too bad. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.”

 

Listening in from her spot closest to the dining room, Harley grips the ice scoop tightly. Her right eye twitches slightly before she exhales a sharp breath and begins topping the slices of pie with the ice cream. _‘Not again,’_ she thinks to herself. _‘I can’t keep losing control of my magic like this.’_ She assists her aunt with quickly serving the table with dessert, guests first, of course, and takes her seat next to her cousin.

 

She throws a brief, forced smile towards Draco. _‘It’s fine.’_ To which Draco returns with a roll of his eyes. _‘Oh please.’_

 

For the rest of dessert, Harley manages to block out anything her aunt or uncle have to say. That it is until the Malfoys decided to take their leave.

 

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, I believe it is time for my family and I to turn in,” Lucius says as he pulls away from the table. To this, both Vernon and Petunia tut sadly. “And while I thank you for this rather wonderful dinner, I am afraid that I must rescind my business offer.” Vernon’s eyes widen in disbelief. “Mobizen Tools presented me with a more mutually beneficial deal. I apologize for disappointing you, Mr. Dursley… We shall let ourselves out.” Lucius offers a small smile and guides Narcissa and Draco to the front door.

 

Quickly, taking one last bite of her pie, Harley stands, offering to walk them out, all the while struggling to hide the smirk from her uncle. When she opens the door, Lucius leads them out with Draco following last. He mouths to her, _‘Owl me later.’_ She nods discreetly and gently closes the door. A petty snicker escapes her as she does so. Harley returns to the dining room to both Petunia and Vernon glaring venomously… at her.

 

Harley sighs. “What did I do?”

 

“ _You…_ you....,” her uncle stutters.

 

“Me?”

 

 _“You… did this,”_ Vernon hisses, teeth bared. His fists clench and his face begins to turn red. “You _made_ him change his mind.” He rounds the table rather quickly.

 

"How dare you even _think_ that I would waste my time to make sure that your dinner was a failure?" Harley asked incredulously. Although, she found it severely unlikely of Vernon _not_ to blame her of such a thing. This is the same man who once cuffed her around the head because his favorite bakery were sold out of chocolate chip muffins when she was nine.

 

"You jinxed it, brat, I know you did!" he growled. The hulk of a man moved closer to her with each step, until his sausage sized finger was pointed in front of her face. Dudley manages to pull his eyes away from the television, finding this much more entertaining and eagerly awaiting what will happen next.

 

"And when, perchance, do you think I had time to do such a thing?" Harley crossed her arms, left eyebrow raised and her voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

“Earlier, of course, wh-when you claimed that this would be a waste of your time!” Petunia chimed in from behind her enormous husband.

 

“You two should write a book,” the witch deadpanned. “Your business deals, failed or otherwise, have been no interest of mine.”

 

“Don’t lie to me, girl,” Vernon bellows. “You know what your problem is?”

 

“Please enlighten me,” Harley drawls.

 

Vernon practically jabs his finger in her nose. “You’re _jealous._ ” At this, she scoffs. “And for no reason at that! We feed and clothe you! A roof over your head! And what do you do?” he snarls. “You people ruin everything! You’re a brat, and it’s because of your father.”

 

“And _what_ do you mean by _that_?” Harley clenches her teeth.

 

She stares down her uncle with a fiery glare. He matches the intensity she’s giving out and offers her a nasty grin. There was no need for him to explain what he meant. Even Dudley knew what he meant.

 

“How _dare_ you. How dare you speak of my father and I that way. And I’m telling you the truth, I did not cast anything on the Malfoys. Especially not on someone as strong as Lucius is, you _disgusting_ —”

 

_Slap._

 

The room spun for a brief second.

 

“They’re wizards?!” Petunia screeched. “Oh my God!” She gasps, immediately taking a seat.

 

“Now look what you’ve done! It's always the same with people like you, starting problems for no reason,” Vernon began to rant. But the room got warmer…

 

Petunia tried to catch a breath...

 

...and warmer…

 

Vernon and Dudley began to sweat immediately...

 

until it got unbearably hot.

 

“What — what’s going on?” Dudley gasped. He struggled to take off his dress jacket and shirt, hoping it would give him some sense of relief.

 

“Girl… you…”

 

**“Quiet.”**

 

Harley tried. She really did. She counted to ten, took deep breaths, but the room just got hotter.

 

She was just so _angry._ The chair closest to her caught fire.

 

Petunia jumped up from the table.

 

_Then the floor._

 

Vernon jumped back, away from her.

 

_And then it crawled up the dining room table._

 

Dudley fell over his chair backwards trying to get away…

 

And then it stopped. The fire slowly died away, leaving the furniture in the same state it was before.

 

Without hesitating, Harley raced up the stairs to her bedroom. Quickly glancing at Hedwig’s cage, she wasn’t surprised to see that it was wide open, as was the window, and both she and Hades were missing. She promptly transformed her dress and flats into her Converse, jeans and a sweatshirt using Wandless Magic. Using the same method and bar her Invisibility Cloak, she shrunk down everything in her room that she needed or wanted, threw them into her school trunk and minimized that as well. While she stuffed the small chest into her sweatshirt pocket, she ran out of the room and raced down the stairs.

 

She was about to go straight for the front door when she paused and turned towards the dining room. There, the Dursleys were still frozen with fear and sweating from the residual heat.

 

“Do _not_ follow me,” she demanded, and made her way out the door. Her uncle yells and barrels for the door, but she whips her Cloak over her head just as he re-opens it. He growls and slams the door while Harley walks down the middle of the road. She manages to make it to the park when she realizes a similar situation to this one.

 

“Fuck.”

 

**_ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ_ **

 

**_"No, Loki."_ **

 

_'You never even gave me a chance...'_

 

**_"No, Loki."_ **

 

_'All I ever wanted was for you to look at me like you did Thor...'_

 

**_"No, Loki."_ **

 

_'Only for me to find out that I wasn't even really yours...'_

 

A fierce shudder ran through the semi-conscious body of Loki... Odinson? Laufeyson? The abandoned Frost Giant wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

 

Was he the runt of a Frost Giant that Odin originally found as a child?

 

_How long ago had he fallen the Bifröst?_

 

The monster in the scary stories that mothers told their children when they stayed up late?

 

_Minutes? Hours? Days?_

 

Was he Asgardian; like he was raised and led to believe for most of his life?

 

_Years?_

 

He didn't know what to think.

 

He could have done it.

 

He could have

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to give you a semblance of a timeline, Harley was born on July 31, 1990 in order to coincide with MCU; meaning that AITS happens in the year 2006. So by the time Iron Man 2 rolls around, Harley will be 20. 
> 
> *Vivica A. Fox as Narcissa and through failed image search, I cannot identify the person I chose for Draco.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT IT'S A LONG DAMN TIME COMING BUT HELLO

**Asgard, 2012**

[Loki](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P7_pKwOIEFBnGuFFuI5WOpKPMZC6EYGd/view?usp=drivesdk) wasn’t particularly upset about being captured. 

In fact, he was rather put out that somehow he, the God of Lies and Trickery, fell for such foolish words and mind-altering magic. He was willing to admit that deceiving Thor and convincing him to stay on Earth under the guise of Odin being dead was… one of his poorer ideas, but he still stood by his reasoning. At the time, Thor was incredibly arrogant and stubborn and goaded on by his equally arrogant friends. Truth be told, he never expected Odin to  _ banish _ his firstborn. It worked out excellently in his favor and Loki gladly took advantage of it, but it was an unexpected side effect. 

Thor returning was… anticipated. While Loki didn’t exactly have faith in his adoptive brother for most things, he did have faith in his persistence. Respected it, even. He wasn’t the type to stand down and roll over. He also wasn’t the type to simply have a discussion instead of butting heads with the opposition. So there Loki sat on Odin’s throne, King by proxy, taking on a task he  _ thought _ he wanted.

It got boring rather quickly, if he was being honest.

Had sibling rivalry really pushed him this far to obtain a status that he didn’t even  _ want _ ? Yes, yes it had. It drove him to the point that he willingly rejected help and fell from the Bïfrost out of pure stubbornness. Because of the numerous occasions that he was pushed aside for his brother, even at that moment. Out of the self-hatred he didn’t even know he had until recently, that was fed to him by the people surrounding him; by his father. After lying to him for  _ years _ about his true ancestry, Odin honestly expected him to just accept that he was taught to hate who he truly was. 

So he fell. 

Right into the lap of a plan that was looking for the perfect patsy. 

Loki had always noticed that he was treated differently than Thor. A lankier build, to them, meant no strength. His temperament was more demure than his older brother so that meant he was a pushover. His affinity for magic over Thor’s brute strength equaled no pride in battle. The way he used magic to trick and deceive was cheating in their eyes; lazy. Magic wasn't meant to fight opponents, it was meant to heal. Growing up, he never understood why he was treated differently over his preference. 

Except for their mother. 

She had favored him more so than Thor, who was groomed for the throne by Odin. She taught Loki everything she knew and what she didn’t know (which was very little), he took upon himself to get lost deep in the multitude of books they had in their enormous library. It was where Loki spent most of his precious time away from Thor and his rambunctious friends. Hidden away and tucked in a corner where no one would spot him accidentally. Magic protected him when his brother did not. Which as they grew older, happened less and less often. 

No more did his brother protect him from the bullies he called his friends. Instead, he merely told Loki to ignore them as they stole his books, altering them by writing over pages, ripping them or even going as far to toss them in rivers. Or to fight back physically when he was held down to prevent him from doing so.

But what upset Loki the most about not noticing the differences between them was simply their hair color. Of course, how could he had been so foolish? Now he realizes how obvious it was. 

Alas, here he walked. 

Surrounded by the Warriors Three and Sif, with Thor walking on his left hand side as they entered the Grand Hall. Inside, stood the rest of the King’s forces equally split in number and on either side of the throne. From the moment they entered the golden chamber, their eyes stared down the Frost Giant. His ancestry has reached them, it seems. They shamelessly wore their resentment and disgust on their faces for Loki to see, but he refused to acknowledge their, technically well placed, anger. 

In the middle of the room sat Odin, his face showing nothing but a neutral disposition towards the situation. His only good eye did show a sense of relief  _ (maybe for his safety? Most likely not.) _ and disappointment. Loki rolled his eyes and grit his teeth behind the muzzle that he was forced to wear back on Earth. The group stopped walking as they arrived in front of the steps before Odin’s throne and kneeled. Loki stood, albeit awkwardly, with his eyes locked on his adoptive father. His hands twisted uncomfortably in the thick, heavy cuffs he wore; he despised having his hands bound as they were the only way he could properly defend himself. 

Odin stood slowly and too did the other four warriors.

“Loki…,” the Allfather’s voice echoed throughout the chamber. “Odinson…”

The Frost Giant snorted.

“You have been brought here before me in light of your past and recent crimes. One act of treason against Asgard, two acts of conspiring with foreign enemies and two acts of war against Midgard, resulting in two hundred Midgardian deaths. It has also come to my attention that you were under the power of the Mind Gem during your invasion of Midgard by the Titan… Thanos.”

At this, the people present gasped, including Sif and the Warriors Three for not even they knew that much. Thanos was a fearsome legend. Conqueror and Destroyer of Planets far from here, but word of his power reached even Asgard. 

“Is this correct, Loki Odinson?” 

As Loki stared ahead unblinking, someone moved behind him and unlocked the muzzle covering half of his face. Licking his dry lips, he worked his jaw and his answer rose from his mouth hoarsely, “Yes.” The gasps came once more. 

“Then… at the mercy of such a powerful relic, I shall retract these particular charges from your sentence,” Odin revealed. “As for the others…,” 

Loki steeled himself, a bitter taste building up in his throat. 

“I am… willing to offer you a bargain.” He rose his hand before any objections could bubble up. “This arrangement will not only count as your punishment, but as a way for you to reflect and safely recuperate from the abuse of the Mind Gem. It is a powerful, strange item that is capable of warping one’s inhibitions and wants to match the caster if need be. Does substituting actual imprisonment for this seem attractive to you?”

The Frost Giant gave a short, silent nod, unsure if he should agree to such a vague offer.

“Then as a way for you, Loki Odinson, to atone for your crimes against Midgard especially, I, Odin Allfather, suggest that you spend the time wasted with Thanos on Midgard instead.”

This time, Odin was not quick enough to avoid the backlash of his words. Loud complaints echoed and bounced off the high walls. “Your Highness, why are you showing this  _ traitor _ mercy?” Even the Warriors Three and Sif voiced their protests in his ears. Thor was surprisingly quiet and had been since they had left Midgard.

**“Silence,”** the Allfather commanded. “I am giving Loki this chance because I believe he can be rehabilitated. Now, Loki, do you think this acceptable? Although, I do recommend this seeing as your only other option is to spend quite some time imprisoned.”

_ ‘Allowing me to return to the very place I sought to enslave? Reversing the time I lost at that?’ _ thought Loki.  _ ‘Is he mad? Surely.’ _

Though, it did seem rather appealing. Loki harbored no real hatred for Earth and he was rather educated in Midgardian technology… He wanted to help fix what Thanos forced him to destroy. “I… accept your offer… Your Highness.”

It was not long after the Grand Hall was cleared of Asgard’s soldiers. With only Thor, Loki and Odin remaining, the three moved to the more intimate setting of Odin’s study, where Frigga was waiting impatiently. 

“Loki, my dear, you are okay,” cried Frigga. She snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Her adopted son’s eyes drifted shut with the feeling of security she never failed to wash him in, and returned her hug. 

“Yes, mother, I am fine.” Loki appeased her with a smile when it faded as the curiosity of his sentence could not be quelled anymore. “But…” He turned to face Thor and Odin who were still standing in the entry way. “This decision to alter time for me and to send me back to Midgard… Why?” Loki couldn’t help the frown that took over his face.

“You may thank your brother for my verdict,” was all that Odin felt to say.

“...Thor?” he echoed. The God of Thunder wore a serene but sly smirk on his face. 

“Purely selfish reasons, I’m afraid, dear brother. I couldn’t bear the thought of you stuck in the dungeon withering away for so many millenia. It doesn’t become you. What you’ve done prior to Thanos corrupting you was treacherous, yes, but never fatal. I realize now that what you did was to cure me of my own stubbornness. Took a bit of convincing on my part for Father to even consider it. Foolish of me to have such a naive view on this, I know,” Thor grinned.

The Frost Giant blinked. “I… thank you,” he said simply. There wasn’t much Loki could say. He would try to fulfill his debt in future.

“Now Loki,” Odin started. “You will be able to keep your magic; this is a great chance I am giving you. Heimdall and I will both watching you personally. When we cast this spell, he and the four of us in this room will be the only to have knowledge of these past events. Do you understand?”

At Loki’s nod, there was nothing left to say as the exited the room, then the castle itself. They walk the Bifröst silently and meet its Guardian waiting stoically at his usual post. 

“Are you sure that this is the best method, my King?” Heimdall’s deep voice rumbled. 

“As a method that is beneficial to us all, I do, my friend,” Odin replied.

Heimdall nods, turning and leading them inside the chamber. He assumes his second post and activates the Bifröst, pulling forward the entrance that would deliver Loki to Midgard. The Frost Giant slowly walks up the steps when Thor chimes out, “We shall see each other soon, brother.” Loki offers a small smile to both Frigga and Thor and steps into the doorway. 

The spinning dome of the Bifröst slows to a stop, allowing Heimdall to remove his sword. Putting it back into its holster, he asked Odin again, “...do you think he can accomplish this task?” 

“Loki is a brilliant sorcerer,” Odin answered. “Intelligent and clever. I believe that he feels the need to correct the wrongs he’s done, even if he does not recognize it himself. Assisting someone like the Mistress of Death will benefit not only us in the long run, but Loki himself.”

* * *

 

**2006, Surrey**

A sullen Harley kicked her feet in the air, forcing her to move forward on the swing she was sitting on. It had only been an hour or so since she left the Dursleys’. She always ran to this playground to hide while evading Dudley and his friends or if by luck, she managed to get out of the house when she was a child. It was pretty much abandoned and surrounded by tall grass that reached her hips (her shoulders when she was younger). The rusty swing set creaked sadly with each movement, the see-saw was stuck in one direction and the dirty manual carousel had paint chipping away, but it was hers.

“I can’t believe I did it again,” she berated herself out loud. “I thought I could control it… Accidental magic at sixteen?” She felt Kiyo and Vasuki moving over her, humming in contentment, probably because of how warm her body was right now. To others, this would most likely be an uncomfortable feeling to have, but despite only having the two for no more than nine hours, their presence calmed her down.

She couldn’t allow her anger to get the better of her. Being a Pyromancer always meant staying level-headed. Your anger could drive the magic to do drastic things you really had no intentions of. It lived in all moments of anger; from annoyance, jealousy and to extreme rage. It was a delicate balance of directing such emotions to more beneficial outcomes and staying vigilant to make sure those same emotions didn’t grow and take control. 

Add Fire Magic to a magical core that already inhabits Shadow Magic, and Harley was basically at war with herself. A Shadow Mage could not fall too deep into the darkness they summoned. Her core could be reduced to nothing, absorbing all of her magic and only leaving a pit of emptiness behind. A shadow. 

As it was, Shadow Magic is naturally cold and the two simply sharing the same space was risky enough. The fire could easily overtake it and eat away at the magic. Lately, she could even feel the dark core recoiling from her fire. They were like two opposing ends of a magnet. Which confused her greatly. When she completed her training originally, all three of her cores worked together in perfect harmony.

Harley huffed and kicked her feet again. Her eyes flickered up towards the night sky, narrowing them as something odd caught her attention. A bright stream of light glowed directly over the park that grew into a wide beam the size of a car. It slammed down on the ground, shaking the earth for a moment before the light disappeared as quickly as it came. The quake shook Harley off of the swing, unable to do anything but stare at the column of multi colored light. She stood unsteadily, eyebrows furrowed as her eyes focused on something where the beam struck.

_ ‘A… guy?’ _ she gaped. “Um… hello?” She called out loud. Still unsure of what she had seen, Harley moved closer anyway. The man spun around to face her, causing her to jump back in shock.

“Where am I?” the newcomer demanded. He seemed confused, Harley noted. As if he knew he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

“Um… Surrey? Outside of London, England?” she offered. She played with her fingers nervously.

The man moved closer in long, but careful strides. Harley wished she could say this was the weirdest occurrence she’d ever had, but this didn’t even crack her top five. Seeing the man up close, the first thing she observed is how handsome he was.  _ Too handsome. _ Like he wasn’t even human. He was rather tall, lanky, had long silky black hair that was slicked back over his head, and from the help of the bright moon overhead, Harley was able to tell that his eyes were green? Blue? 

“What year?” 

Why was he asking her what year it was? Did- did he time travel somehow and end up in a different year than what he wanted? But it didn't look like had a Time-Turner! Though, this man having one wouldn’t make sense either because they could only go back a few hours. 

“Wha? Uh, 2006.”

“Hmph, so either they made a mistake, or they’ve put me here on purpose. And I strongly suspect the latter,” he assumed. 

“Uh, um, I'm Harley. Harley Potter.” She offered her hand in greeting. Who sent him here?  _ Why _ was he here? Why isn't this weirding her out? Though there wouldn’t ( _ shouldn’t _ ) be anything that can top killing a sixty foot long venomous snake when you're twelve, anyway. 

The man showed an odd look of recognition in his eyes that confused her. There's no way that he knew her in the future, was there? Wouldn't he have recognized her despite how old she was? “Ah, so it seems my father had other intentions.” He shook her hand with a gentle grip. “I am Loki.”

But before Harley could say anything else, they were suddenly jerked away from each other in a powerful burst of magic when their hands touched. An icy tingle rushed through her body, causing both Vasuki and Kiyo to hiss sharply, recoiling from her body in anger. The force threw them across the field, Harley groaning as her head spinned. What's with the surprise magical surges lately? 

The twin snakes dove into the grass, trying to regain a source of warmth from the ground. She sat up slowly while holding her head. “What the hell…? Again?”

Across the field, Loki was already upright, his eyes wide from the strange occurrence. Was she already this powerful so young? Outside of Odin, his mother and himself, there hadn’t really been anyone else that even closely matched the level of magic he possessed. At this point, the Mistress of Death was a mere child but the raw power she had was incredible. Although, from the mere touch, there was this sense of resistance. Had someone tampered with her core? It already seemed like she was breaking it naturally. 

Her magic was so warm, the thought passed through his mind quickly. Loki always ran cold, personally, due to him being a Frost Giant. As a child, Thor often complained about that fact whenever they would hug or when Loki would demand they share beds during a harsh rainstorm. 

He stood, regaining his senses easily and crossed the field to assist the young girl. When he grew closer, hissing rose from the grass.  _ “Stay away,” _ they warned. Snakes? Interesting. He offered Harley his hand and pulled her up gently. As she got up, her companions wound themselves around her legs and snuck back up her shirt. Their bodies disappeared from sight, most likely melting into her skin. Ah, so they’re her Familiars.

Harley shivered as she grabbed his hand. So cold. Her Shadow Magic tingled pleasantly through her body at the sensation, but the feeling soon was chased away by the fire. “Wait.” She brushed her hair away from her face, trying to sort her thoughts. “Did… d-did you say y-your name was Loki? Like the  _ Norse God of Mischief, Loki?”  _

“I believe that is what I said, yes.” The demigod in question lifted his brow in amusement.

“Of course you did, bloody dragons exist, why not you?” she muttered to herself. “So Asgard, the Great Tree, it all exists? Why would you even be down here on Earth?”

At this, Loki held up his hand. “Questions such as these needn’t be answered where wandering ears could hear. Is there any place we could go that would offer privacy?”

He needed privacy just to answer that? What could be so important, so secret, that they had to leave? Plus, there couldn’t be any way that someone was watching, was there? 

_ Was it? _

Harley’s eyes darted around the area, fruitlessly searching for any glimpse of well… anything. Since learning of the Order of the Phoenix, she had heard bits and pieces of them possibly watching her at the Dursley’s. Is that what Loki meant? Could he see through concealment charms? She looked back up at the Asgardian.When he shook his head, her shoulders (that subconsciously tensed) relaxed in relief. 

“It would seem that my father did not completely disclose his reasoning behind allowing me to return to Earth. I am afraid part of that might have to do with you and your mission.” 

Harley pointed to herself, mouth agape. A bloody demigod was sent to help  _ her _ defeat Voldemort?  What could be more demanding of a secret than this? 

“I — yeah, okay…,” she stuttered. “I know where we can go.” She lead the demigod towards the street, stopping right at the curb. Loki watched Harley curiously as she pulled out her wand and pointed it towards the open space. He managed to suppress his alarm at a purple, triple decker bus suddenly racing up the same street at a breakneck speed. The bus stopped short with its doors aligned with them perfectly. They opened quickly, and out a head popped; Stan, Harley believes is his name, the same person who greeted her the first time she (accidentally) summoned the bus. 

“Thank you for calling on the Knight Bus,” his voice droned. “My name is— Oi!” The conductor’s eyes widened. “You’re ‘Arley Potter!”

The young witch offered a quick smile in return. “Cheers, Stan. Think we can get a ride to the Leaky Cauldron?”

He nodded quickly, almost shaking his hat right off. “Absolutely, miss; that’d be a galleon and five sickles.”

The two boarded the triple decker bus, Loki’s eyes checking over it with apprehension obvious on his face. This is what passed as transportation? From how old its interior looked, the bus barely seemed safe to ride, let alone sleep in, according to the beds sitting freely on the floor.

The trip was… eventful to say the least. Jerking around corners, narrowly avoiding vehicles that obviously couldn’t see the purple monstrosity, and getting clipped by bed frames skidding across the floor. The bus arrived at their stop with a screeching halt. Harley tipped their conductor and casually strode off the bus, Loki following exhaling a breath of relief. He couldn’t help but watch as the beast on wheels rocketed off into the night again. 

“What exactly is this place we’ve come to?” the demigod finally asked. He eyed the chipped bricks of the building and its rickety door in skeptically. 

“This is the Leaky Cauldron,” she announced with unnecessary cheerfulness, pushing open the beat up door. She revealed a decrepit looking tavern, such so in every sense of the word. The bar was partially empty, there were some lonely wizards scattered around that were nursing either a tea, Fire Whiskey or both mixed together. Tom the bartender was quietly cleaning mugs with a very used and old looking rag behind the counter. Loki couldn’t resist his nose scrunching up with distaste. 

“Are you… sure about this place, Miss Potter?” he whispered. He noticed a couple patrons pick their heads up slowly and stare the two curiously as if they could hear him. 

“Meh, we’ll be fine once we’re in a room,” Harley dismissed. “It’s the Hog’s Head you gotta worry about.” She greeted the bartender and easily got them a room with two beds, paying with ten of what they called a galleon.

Leading the demigod up to the room, she felt Kiyo and Vasuki’s smooth scales on her skin as they wound themselves around her waist. The sensation calmed her more than she realized. Occasionally, the two hissed, trying to smell and taste the new environment they were in. Harley suspected that was rather difficult to do, what with them blended into her skin  **and** covered in her clothes. They seemed quite anxious too, most likely still shaken up from being tossed in the air and jolted with ice magic. 

As Harley opened the door, she checked her watch.  _ 10:36 _ , it read. A sigh rolled off of her lips at the thought of what the next day will bring. She couldn’t help but wonder why Sirius (while very alive, apparently) didn’t have a will reading scheduled. Her parents having so one this late after their death was odd as well. Was it because she’ll be of age in a year and she could only access the money they left for her to use for school until now? She also thought about who would even be present. From what Harley had learned, her parents didn’t have many friends between them. Pettigrew was with Voldemort, everyone thought Sirius was dead, so clearly that left Remus and Dumbledore. 

Loki walked inside ahead of her, looking over their momentary living quarters. He looked much taller and intimidating where she could properly see him. His hair did, in fact, reach his shoulders like she assumed and was even correct about his eyes being green. The warm lighting from the candles shook some of the paleness away from his skin. The shadows from them traced his sharp jawline pleasantly, but thankfully (for Harley’s sake), the Asgardian interrupted her thoughts before they could finish.

“As I was saying, earlier, my father had ulterior motives in sending me here,” he stated.

“But… why? What happens in the future that bloody  _ Odin _ would know about  _ me?”  _ Harley questioned, closing the door behind her and locking it. 

Loki offered a roguish smirk as an answer. Though to himself, not even he knew specifically why the Allfather would send him to the young witch. “Even Asgard knows of the humans blessed by Magic, Miss Potter; that includes you and your enemy, as little humanity there is left in him. In the timeline I am from, you are known as the Mistress of Death —”

Here, Harley’s hazel eyes widened. They called her  _ what? _ Was she gonna be the new Voldemort or something?

“— and we knew of your strength, yes, but it was nothing like I felt earlier.”

The witch thought back to when they were forced away from each other.

“But that isn’t  _ my _ reason being here,” he admits. Loki can’t explain why, but he feels slightly apprehensive in explaining himself. He knows that the invasion wasn’t truly his fault, that the Mind Gem molded his intentions to match those of Thanos. But the stone also unlocks and warps your inhibitions; Loki wanted to be respected and feared? To be acknowledged? It encouraged him to do whatever he needed to in order to achieve it. Even if it meant sending legions of Chitauri to Midgard. 

Without noticing that he took up pacing around the room, Loki’s past crimes spilled from his lips. He began from the beginning; reigniting the rivalry between the Jotunn and Asgardians, Thor picking a fight and (accidentally) getting him banished. Even how he blatantly lied to the Thunderer about Odin dying and sending a fighter mecha to keep him from returning. 

His eyes drifted to Harley, who has been seated on one of the beds, staring at him warily; he assumes, for quite some time. 

This doesn’t deter him, however, as the more Loki says, the more it encourages him to talk about it. Once he has finished revealing his wrong doings, he notices that the young witch has grown more and more nervous in his presence. Even her snake familiars pick up on her change and hiss warningly at him to keep distance.

“Odin struck a deal with me,” he quickly throws out. He, for some reason, doesn’t want her to be afraid of him. “What happened after I fell… I became a puppet for a being far more threatening and powerful than I. Odin understood that those intentions were not really my own and allowed me reprive to regain my strength, and to well, apparently help you achieve your goal.” Loki finds himself trusting her rather easily with all this information and briefly wonders why he doesn’t find any issue with it. “I am here… to redeem myself.”

The room is silent for a few moments, outside of the twins hissing quietly. 

Harley… wasn’t precisely sure how she was supposed to absorb what she had been told. And she suspects that the Asgardian is possibly holding more back and only giving her the bare bones about his adoptive family. But that was neither here nor there. 

She was in a room with a demigod. One that had been brainwashed into killing hundreds of people and threatening the lives of much more. 

And she was… okay with it. 

She couldn’t explain how, but she sensed the sincerity in Loki’s words. He truly regretted what he caused on Earth. Not really about Thor but definitely everything else. 

It was odd, and Harley had never felt anything like it before, but she was sure that Loki was telling the truth. Not even the twins had objected at any point.

“I…. believe you,” she said quietly. The way she said it almost sounded like she was still determining whether or not that was the correct thing to say. Her eyes met the Asgardian’s and the relief she saw made her relax completely. “Well… now that this emotional rollercoaster is over, let’s get some sleep, yeah?” Harley, quick to shake off the heaviness, fumbled around in the pocket of her hoodie for her miniaturized trunk. 

She tossed it on the floor and with the wave of her hand, the trunk grew back to its original size. It snapped open and sleeping clothes, a tank top and sweatpants, floated out of it. 

“I’m gonna guess that you didn’t come with clothes of your own?” she asked the demigod. When she received a negative answer, she stood and looked into the trunk herself, unsure if she had any old clothes of Dudley’s that would (no doubt) fit the man. Humming in satisfaction, she pulled out an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. 

Loki’s nose scrunched up in disgust at the dingy clothing.

“It’s either this or you sleep naked cuz what you’re wearing isn’t gonna cut it,” she bargained. The Asgardian looked like he considered the latter before taking the clothes anyway.

Harley almost began to change out of her clothes when a thought came to her.  **_§Vasuki, Kiyo.§_ **

The green and black heads of her newly acquired snakes appeared on either side of hers, their bodies revealing themselves as well, wrapped around her torso.  **_§Yes, Mistress?§_ ** they both replied.

Behind her, Loki stared curiously at the hissing falling from the teen’s lips. From what he knew of Midgardian witches and wizards, the Language of Snakes was a dying art. Meanwhile, most Magic users on Asgard who had snakes as familiars spoke to them with ease.

**_§Will you two be okay to sleep like this or do you want to be seperate?§_ **

Surely melded into her skin while she rolled around in her sleep would not be comfortable.

**_§We want to roam this new place you’ve brought us to,§_ ** Kiyo demanded.

The Parselmouth eyed the female King Cobra cautiously.  **_§Only if the two of you stay out of sight and don’t alarm anyone.§_ **

On the left side of her head, Vasuki scoffed at the thought of being seen.  **_§Of course not, what do you take us for? Besides, we’ll only attack if you tell us to or if we know you’re in danger.§_ **

Satisfied, the witch opened the door to the room, checking to see if anyone was in the hall before allowing the twins to escape the room.  **_§Be careful,§_ ** she threw out in a whisper.

Harley re-locked the door, pulled off her hoodie and was about to pull on her tank top when she noticed something in the full length mirror against the wall. Something glittering on her right hip. It was the shape of a bursting silver star. The layers of the star shimmered rhythmically. It glowed faintly with a light blue outline under the light from the candles and it even felt cold when she prodded at it. If she was being totally honest, the chill that tingled through her afterwards was kinda calming. 

“Lo...ki…?” She turned around to question the Asgardian when she sees him, shirtless, and observing a mark of his own in the same place hers is. Only this one is shaped like a small, black flame outlined in a warm orange. 

It was warm, Loki noted when he copied Harley and poked at the new feature. Soothing. When he moved closer to the mirror, the flame gave the illusion of flickering against his skin; almost like it was alive. 

“Loki. What the bloody hell is this?” she asked quietly. 

“Well, it’s rather simple,” he murmured. “Our magic imprinted on one another.”


End file.
